World No. 1 Angelique Kerber gave herself the perfect birthday gift yesterday by reaching the Australian Open third round, but she had to work hard against fellow German Carina Witthoeft
Angelique Kerber
Germany’s Angelique Kerber poses with her birthday cake ahead of her Australian Open tie in Melbourne yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
Melbourne: World No. 1 Angelique Kerber gave herself the perfect birthday gift yesterday by reaching the Australian Open third round, but she had to work hard against fellow German Carina Witthoeft. The defending champ, who turned 29, battled through 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 and will next face Czech Kristyna Pliskova.
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The prospects looked bleak for the unseeded Witthoeft, who has twice lost to Kerber at Wimbledon including an embarrassing 6-0, 6-0 'double bagel' in 2015.
The top seed said she struggled with the sun in her eyes at times and admitted to too many silly mistakes. "I was doing I think a lot of mistakes in the important moments. But at the end, I'm happy that I won the match," she said. "It was not so easy. The conditions were a little bit difficult today. And I was a bit too defensive."
Kerber admitted she is still getting used to dealing with the extra pressure. "To have this pressure is a privilege. It's completely new for me, but I'm doing well. I'm just trying to enjoy it," she on court, before the Rod Laver Arena crowd sang "Happy Birthday".
"I am getting older... I think I will have a great day today," Kerber added.
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